OSS: Cubs thump Pirates, hopefully turn the page on the dumpster fire road trip.
Three up:
- The Cubs sent Jameson Taillon packing with a little help from Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman, who had three errors in the second inning. Jon Lester, of all people, drove in the first run at Wrigley in 2019.
- The game was out of hand at that point, but Kyle Schwarber homered against a lefty. Hopefully this will help with seeing him in the lineup more often, rather than this Zagunis platoon that Joe seems set on.
- After an early Jon Lester exit, the bullpen combined to put up seven shutout innings, walking just two batters.
Three down:
- Jon Lester left early with a hamstring strain, which may or may not have been aggravated by running the bases in the Cubs rally in the second inning. Lester at least doesn’t seem to think it’s that serious, and is planning to make his next start. But we’ll find out more after an MRI tomorrow.
- The Cubs offense put up ten runs today, so it’s tough to complain, but Rizzo, Baez, and Contreras managed to strike out three times each in this one.
- This opener off day stuff is still pretty annoying, but at least it’s coming after a win.
Next up: Yu Darvish faces Jordan Lyles at 7:05 PM on Wed. It sounds like the weather might be pretty miserable for both games in the rest of the series.
Comments
When I saw the schedule back in spring training I figured the season doesn’t really start until Wednesday. This off day after the opener shit is the dumbest shit in the world. It makes Donald Trump look like a fucking genius. I’d be okay if a team wants to have an off day after their opener, but it should disqualify them from postseason play.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
The whole idea of playing in the cold, shitty weather in an era when building an all-weather stadium is completely doable for every multi-billion-dollar franchise seems pretty stupid.
andcountingQuote Reply
the reason there’s an off day after opening day is in case the weather on opening day is crappy and they need to reschedule. If you have ever tried buying tickets on opening day, you’d know that it is just about the most expensive game of the season no matter who they play. For reference, Wednesday’s game is probably going to be the lowest priced game of the season (although probably due to weather). It makes sense for teams to ensure they have a good weather day to sell as many tickets as possible.
It’s hard to understand what you’re actually passionate about when you speak like this about a meaningless off day.
sharpchicityQuote Reply
sharpchicity,
I understand why it’s done, but it’s happened to the Cubs 3 times. Each team has 18 off days during the regular season plus the all-star break. The Cubs have used 3 of their 18 days and played only 10 games. There will be some rainouts that will need to be made up and it will most likely happen down the stretch so the Cubs will once again be playing 30 of 31 days or or more.
I would prefer the teams play indoors on gravel than this shit. It’s an almost certainty the Cubs will lack off days in the final month or two and not be rested enough to play good enough baseball so even if they do find their way back into contention, it’s all over because of these off days so early in the season.
dmick89Quote Reply
Uncle Dave, I see you got Chinese investors to fund the prototype
https://twitter.com/paperghost/status/1115524936251203584
SKQuote Reply
This is hard to understand.
RynoQuote Reply
Lester —-> DL
Sounds like Chatwood will get a start.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Sucks for Lester, but it helps the Cubs for next year’s draft.
dmick89Quote Reply
FTFY
Not as bad as it could be. Should only miss a start or two.
WaLiQuote Reply
So coming off a 5.3 WAR season in 2015, 30 year old Chris Davis signed a 7 year / $161,000,000 contract with the Baltimore Orioles, including $161,000,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $23,000,000. In 2019, Davis will earn a base salary of $17,000,000, while carrying a total salary of $21,118,782. He is the highest paid player on the Orioles and also has a limited No Trade Clause.
Since the contract, Chris Davis has provided 3.3 WAR in 2016, -0.1 WAR in 2017, and -2.76 WAR in 2018. Including this year, he has 4 more years on his contract.
So far this year he has 0.000 AVG, 0.125 OBP/OPS with 2 RBI and he hasn’t had a hit in 49 ABs (going back to last season).
The reason I bring this up is mainly because there is no fucking baseball to talk about today, but also because when we look at contracts like Chatwood (and to some extent Heyward which only looks bad in retrospect) it could definitely always be worse.
WaLiQuote Reply
The Chatwood contract will always stand out because he was coming off a 2.1 WAR season and has never been an above average pitcher. The Davis contract is horrific, but he did have a couple good years for the Orioles. At some point he earned his money. Someone else probably would have paid him a very high number of dollars. Chatwood? He got Thoyer to spend when no one else would, paying him for success neither future nor past nor present. It is completely mystifying.
andcountingQuote Reply
That’s what most pisses me off about that contract. It turns out there wasn’t another team that wasn’t going to pay him shit and he’d probably still have been on the market 3 or 4 months later for next to nothing.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
andcounting,
Clearly the market was misread (or Chatwood blackmailed Theo with pictures he had of Theo in a gorilla costume with a Pizza Hut MILF) and I’m in no way trying justify the Chatwood contract, just trying to be positive by thinking it’s not as bad as it could be.
Luckily there are fewer cases of Theo making free agent signing mistakes like Chatwood so it sticks out when a signing like that does happen.
WaLiQuote Reply
I didn’t do the math or anything on his past performance/earnings, but just looking at the numbers he only two seasons he produced >2 WAR (5.3 WAR season in 2015 and 6.5 in 2013) prior to signing the contract. In his 8 years in MLB prior to that contract, he produced a total of 14.8 WAR. And he was on the wrong side of 30 when he signed that contract, so we wouldn’t expect any improved performance. Hindsight is 20/20 blah blah blah but it really seems like it will end up being one of the worst contracts signed especially when considering how much money the Orioles have to spend to begin with.
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
Oh it was bad. It was and is really bad.
andcountingQuote Reply
Stellaaaaaa!
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I love how Tommy is giving me a reason to post the Brando gif again.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I didn’t know Pujols was still playing to be honest
WaLiQuote Reply
This MIL-LAAoD game is going to end sometime around 6 am.
berseliusQuote Reply
SK,
One of the more baffling things about the tech world is why it’s just now that we’re getting around to the whole sex robot thing. (“They’re geniuses in Silicon Valley! Entrepreneurs!”)
Also, like, I ain’t the person putting my finger in that thing. I don’t know what quality control testing for a blowjob robot entails, but I do know it absolutely doesn’t involve me making the assumption that some random dick hasn’t already spread some germs there.
uncle daveQuote Reply
SK,
Also, I’m totally the guy who won’t jerk off in a hospital broom closet but will fuck a robot in the hallway. I clearly understand how that would make the whole process of getting a sperm sample collected way more relaxing.
uncle daveQuote Reply
No ellipses needed on this one.
Wenningtons Gorilla CockQuote Reply
Wenningtons Gorilla Cock,
(dying laughing) yeah, sorry to preemptively hijack Ryno’s bit. (Again, do we need elipses there?)
uncle daveQuote Reply
Wenningtons Gorilla Cock,
(dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
uncle dave,
Honestly, I can’t let this one go. We’ve got like 25 years of consumer internet history behind us at this point and it’s a well-known fact that the only two ways to make money off of it is by stealing consumer data or streaming pirated pornography. That’s really it, right?
So what do the fucking dorks in Cupertino do? They’re not building sex robots, which is something that sounds like the most obvious, sure-fire bajillion selling consumer good that will be created in our lifetimes. Fuck, I think you could even rig the robots to collect our personal data if you tried hard enough.
But, nope. They’re having a race to see who can be the first to lose a billion dollars by reinventing the taxi.
I don’t even really want a sex robot. I’m just pissed that those dudes are all millionaires and none of them are smart enough to figure that out.
uncle daveQuote Reply
This is the dumbest possible time to be alive, and I say that knowing people used to try to cure the flu with leaches. I think I need a good night’s sleep.
uncle daveQuote Reply
I think that’s how SK was treated for his first flu
WaLiQuote Reply
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
(dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing)
WaLiQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
We can just end the season now, nothing will top this (dying laughing) (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Looks like QWOP baseball (dying laughing).
uncle daveQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
2B Descalso
3B Bryant
1B Rizzo
SS Baez
LF War Bear
C Contreras
RF Heyward
CF Almora
P Darvish
berseliusQuote Reply
Tim Collins ——-> Cubs (for the Lester IL move)
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Game going to happen tonight?
WaLiQuote Reply
They should’ve played today’s game yesterday when yesterday was an off day and tomorrow’s game either today or tomorrow depending on whether yesterday was rescheduled to today.
Wenningtons Gorilla CockQuote Reply
Wenningtons Gorilla Cock,
That would have made too much sense.
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
It could go either way
berseliusQuote Reply
Most people probably wouldn’t want to show off their sex robot like they do their iPhones or MacBooks. The robot better come with fingerprint, face and voice recognition because I don’t want any strangers fucking my robot. Actually, I think it should test my DNA too because I’m really serious about this no strangers shall fuck my robot rule.
dmick89Quote Reply
I’d like to interview Alvin’s sex robot.
Wenningtons Gorilla CockQuote Reply
So, who owns my cock?
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Sorry, that was Alvin interviewing his sex robot.
andcountingQuote Reply
Christ, look at this prima donna.
uncle daveQuote Reply
(dying laughing) you can’t find this conversation anywhere other than a Cubs blog. Makes perfect sense.
dmick89Quote Reply
This blog is gonna have some weird visitors once Google updates their page rank for sex robots.
JKVQuote Reply
The stories it would tell about bologna, big gulps, and his stats based on what hat he wears
WaLiQuote Reply
This Darvish contract sucks.
dmick89Quote Reply
“I have a lot of hats.”
MylesQuote Reply
Cubs announcers: The ball is not travelling today.
*Pirates hitter hits a homer*
Cubs announcers: The last thing you want to do on a day like this is hit the ball in the air.
*another Pirates hitter hits a homer*
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Has Maddon challenged anything all year?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Heyward!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Heyward?!
berseliusQuote Reply
Well at least Darvish didn’t walk anyone.
berseliusQuote Reply
Darvish hasn’t gone 6 innings yet this year, and his longest outing last year was 6 innings (three times). Somehow I was expecting more for 20-25M per year.
North Side PatQuote Reply
My thoughts on Tim Collins so far: he is small.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I’m feeling cautiously optimistic about Jason Heyward, which is probably ridiculous.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Feel like they should have sent Rizzo home on that play considering the weather but oh well. Cubs are dead to me again
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
Probably a bad idea down by three in the eighth, especially with another runner on and less than 2 outs.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I think the runner would have to have a better than 90% chance of success to try to score there. Scoring barely helps the team’s win expectancy, but an out is very damaging. I think a low run environment makes it even worse; it would just make the out even more devastating by making a comeback far more difficult.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Basically, when you’re down three runs late in the game, you have to play for three runs. Taking a risk for one run (potentially decreasing the chances for more) is usually a bad idea.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Brewers lose.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Three-hit game for Terrance Gore. He is now 4 for 5 on the year. He also hit a triple.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Perkins,
He’s having a really good April. Average exit velocity is 91. It’s not unfounded optimism since he’s been so good before and he’s not that old. It would be great for him to continue this because he’s not going to be platooning heavily anytime soon.
andcountingQuote Reply
We should set up Uncle Dave rants more often.
BVSQuote Reply
Not sure I want to hear about the sex robot’s gulps when related to Alvin.
BVSQuote Reply
BVS,
If we had a link to audio, how many milliseconds would pass before you clicked on it?
andcountingQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
RF Zobrist
3B Bryant
1B Rizzo
SS Baez
LF War Bear
CF Heyward
2B Descalso
C Caratini
P Quintana
berseliusQuote Reply
Looks like today’s start time got pushed up by half an hour.
berseliusQuote Reply
Victor Caratini could go 0 for the rest of the season and it would still be a career year.
andcountingQuote Reply
Schwarber has been doing a credible Chris Davis impersonation lately.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Jesus, Anthony.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Ugh.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Quintana is dealing. Heyward is out best player. Just like we predicted.
MylesQuote Reply
Come on, rain.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Caratini!!!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rain!!!
andcountingQuote Reply
Great outing for Q. And if the weather holds up, a great outing by the pen.
berseliusQuote Reply
RIP Scott Sanderson, 62.
He was my favorite pitcher for a long time. Don’t know why, probably because he won games in 1984 for the couple weeks in the summer when I was at my grandparents and they had WGN on cable.
BVSQuote Reply
andcounting,
6.022 × 10^23 minimum
BVSQuote Reply
When will they call the game?
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
Oh it’s back
WaLiQuote Reply
BVS,
I remember a 17 or 18 inning game the Cubs played and he threw 8 innings out of the bullpen.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
It would take 24 Cubs relievers to get through 8 innings these days and they walk 19 batters in the process.
dmick89Quote Reply
M—————> inverted
berseliusQuote Reply
BVS,
Some how I remembered that’s a mole
WaLiQuote Reply
http://www.obstructedview.net/cubs-2-pirates-0-and-mini-preview-anaheim-trouts-of-disneyland-7-6-at-chicago-cubs-4-8/
berseliusQuote Reply